On IUU Day, CFT urges the APPG on Fisheries to make fisheries transparency a priority. – On the International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, the Coalition for Fisheries Transparency (CFT) urges the APPG on Fisheries to fully include the implementation of the Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency in its Action Plan for a Thriving and Sustainable UK Fishing Industry.
35% of global fish stocks are currently fished unsustainably. The UK is not immune to this, with cod – a staple for fish and chips – being severely depleted, and mackerel being removed from supermarket shelves due to overfishing concerns. In total, half of the UK’s top ten fish stocks are either critically low, overexploited, or both.
UK seas are not free from IUU fishing either. Serious occurrences of illegal fishing and human rights violations of crew operating in British waters have been reported in recent years. To tackle this, the CFT is calling on the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Fisheries to ensure that transparency and accountability are at the heart of the national Action Plan it is currently developing. This is vital for the UK to lead in the fight against IUU fishing nationally and globally.
Vivien Deloge, CFT UK Coordinator, said:
“The UK has currently implemented two out of ten principles of the Global Charter for Fisheries for Fisheries Transparency. The APPG on Fisheries’ Action Plan is an opportunity to call for the UK to go further, in particular on beneficial ownership information, seafood traceability, transparency of activity information, and remote electronic monitoring (REM) of fishing vessels.”
Kyle Lischak, Head of UK at ClientEarth, said:
“A key structural challenge facing the UK fishing sector is the lack of transparency over who ultimately owns and benefits from commercial fishing activity. It is indeed often difficult to determine who ultimately owns or controls fishing vessels. Strengthening beneficial ownership transparency would support both enforcement and the long-term sustainability of the sector.”
Steve Trent, CEO at the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), said:
“The public deserve to know that the seafood they are buying is not the product of environmental destruction or bonded, forced and slave labour. Fisheries transparency is the key to establishing who has caught what, when, where, and how – without it we cannot give consumers that assurance nor hold bad actors to account. The UK is importing over a quarter of its seafood imports from the worst offending countries for illegal fishing, yet critical border checks on these imports are at record lows. The UK must urgently strengthen and increase scrutiny of the seafood it imports if the UK is to avoid becoming a dumping ground for fish tainted by illegal fishing and human rights abuses.”
Lucy Kay, Public Affairs Manager (England) at Open Seas, said:
“Knowing that fishing vessels licensed to fish in UK waters are operating responsibly and abiding by the rules is a key to strengthening trust in UK-sourced fish and seafood products. Publishing information on fishing vessel compliance is a low cost step that will help instil confidence that seafood from the UK is responsibly sourced. Alongside this, improving on-the-water monitoring of catches will provide better data for trusted and evidence-led fisheries management, and deter vessel operators from breaching fishing regulations, helping to tackle major issues like wasteful and illegal discarding.”
The implementation of the Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency will help ensure transparent, equitable, and well-governed fisheries, free from harmful fishing practices and human rights and
labour abuses, for the benefit of people and the ocean.
Image: ©Nick Fewings on Unsplash – a fishing trawler entering the harbour in Mevagissey, Cornwall, UK